Comfortable
by libellula
Summary: Gaara doesn't want to play matchmaker, but even he can tell that they belong together. In which birthdays are celebrated and sleepovers are forced. NaruSaku, with a little ShikaTema and possibly an even smaller amount of GaaMatsu on the side.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Summary**: In which Gaara doesn't play matchmaker, but even _he_ can tell that they belong together. Naruto/Sakura, with a little Shikamaru/Temari and an even smaller amount of Gaara/Matsuri on the side.

**Comfortable**

Gaara is by no means an expert in love (quite the opposite in fact, despite the tattooed contradiction on his head,) but he does know one thing, and it has little to do with storybook romances and everything to do with the craziness that is Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura.

.

The doors to his office burst open with a ceremonious cheer and Konohagakure's two most colorful ninja appeared with cheeky grins, throwing little bits of leaves all over the place.

It was slightly before noon when Kankuro knocked on his door and announced the impromptu arrival of "—that loud idiot who saved your life and that cute girl who saved mine."

To say that Gaara had been shocked would've been blasphemous. Naruto may've been the number one ninja in surprising people, but from the moment Temari had let slip that his birthday was coming up, Gaara knew to expect visitors on the morning of January 19th.

"Happy birthday, Gaara!" The signature grin split across Naruto's face as he gave Gaara a hard pat on the shoulder as a sign of manly affection. "Eighteen years, huh?"

Gaara made a faint noise in response, but his eyes stayed focus on the tiny pieces of green littered on his formerly spotless floor.

"Sorry about that. This idiot insisted on having confetti, and the only things between our village and yours were trees and dirt." The Godaime's apprentice gave him a pretty smile and conjured up an almost dismally wrapped box that was about as wide as his palm. "He also insisted in wrapping your present."

Naruto's hands went behind his head sheepishly. "I did my best!"

Gaara stared thoughtfully at the sagging, crumpled desert-orange object. A mint green ribbon with one side disproportional to the other hung loosely around it. The only thing saving it from complete disaster was how well the two colors looked together. It reminded him of that strange fruit that Temari would chop up and throw into his soup sometimes.

"Open it!"

He carefully tugged at one part of the wrapper and heard an unladylike snort from Sakura when the rest of it fell apart immediately after. He opened the box and stared blankly at the strange-shaped ceramic bowl—or cup—that was an unexpectedly vibrant shade of green.

"I picked a great color, huh? Me and Sakura-chan saw this a few months ago when we were in the Mist!" Naruto reached over and grabbed the bowl-cup, slipping his fingers through the strange hole so that it rested on his palm. "I know how you like your soup, and this is macho-sized and comfy." He demonstrated this by swinging his hand around in paths that would make the average civilian dizzy.

Gaara wondered how many of his villagers would dare to laugh at the sight of him using this, and decided promptly that he would only be caught sipping from it in the comfort of his own home. He wasn't self-conscious in any way, but there were quite a few artists in Suna who liked to catch him on random bouts of the day. The image of him sipping out of such a strange contraption would surely look a bit ridiculous.

"Thank you Naruto, Sakura. I will use it often." Gaara lied convincingly.

"Now get out of your stuffy room and take us out for food! I'm starving."

"Naruto! Gaara's the Kazekage. He has work to do and can't just stop everything because you can't take a few hours without food—" As if on cue, Sakura's stomach made a particularly loud roar and her cheeks tinted the same color as her hair.

Naruto frowned at his teammate and pointed at one of the men who had been standing silently beside the door since their arrival, but who was now staring disbelievingly at Sakura's stomach. "Hey, you! Stop checking out Sakura-chan and take care of Gaara's work. This is an _emergency_." His tone was demanding in a light way that only Naruto could pull off and Gaara nodded approvingly.

"Y-Yes, Uzumaki-san." The female guard who had accompanied the innocent man bit back a laugh at his stutter.

Before Gaara could protest, Naruto had grabbed his arm with one hand and Sakura's wrist with the other. "What are you feeling like today? I'm thinking something with noodles and soup…"

This is how Gaara found himself sitting inside the restaurant abysmally named the Lovin' Hut, which was incidentally the only place in Sunagakure that served ramen. Naruto was squinting intensely at the mounted menu behind the counter and Sakura sat swirling her fingers over her cup of tea lazily, having already decided on an order.

"Naruto, if you don't pick something _now_, I will kick your ass back to Konoha and then send Katsuyu over to tell Tsunade-shishou to kick your ass over here again so you don't miss the rest of Gaara's birthday."

"Calm down, Sakura-chan! You're overreacting again."

"_Overreacting_?" Sakura took a calming breath and the veins that appeared on her rather large forehead slowly dissipated. Her voice was bright and cheery when she spoke again, "So Gaara, is Shikamaru still here? We have a few things we need to check up on with him."

Gaara wondered if all females were this bipolar or if Haruno Sakura was a special case. Then, he remembered this Shikamaru fellow and how often Temari had kicked him out at night before letting him back in shortly, and he decided all women were crazy.

"He's currently staying in our house. Although, a couple days ago I heard Temari yell that she wasn't getting any younger and if his 'lazy ass' didn't do something soon, she would kick him out permanently." It was a bit silly in his opinion. The Nara may be a genius, but his sister shouldn't expect him to be able to create a time machine just so she can retain her youth.

"Got room for two more?" Naruto and Sakura both smiled persuasively in a manner that may have worked if he wasn't Gaara, but he made an exception since they _had_ traveled a few days for him.

He sighed. "Do what you want. I don't believe there are any open rooms."

"That's alright, buddy! I'll just room with you." Gaara visibly cringed and Naruto hastily diverted his attention to ordering. Sakura awarded him with a sympathetic smile as she sipped her tea.

.

Lunch had passed with larger-than-life narratives from Naruto and the occasional chidings from Sakura and after leaving the restaurant, Sakura announced that she was going to spend a few hours at the local hospital to help out.

This, of course, left Gaara and Naruto to wander aimlessly around the village.

"You know, you guys don't have many chicks around here. Oh hey, any ladies that have tickled your fancy?"

This, in turn, led to many moments like these.

The question sprung out of nowhere and Gaara inwardly choked before recomposing yourself. "Don't be foolish."

"Just asking." Naruto chuckled and stopped at one of the stands selling trinkets. "I may have overheard some talk about your villagers expecting you to have a child in a couple years…"

"I have no interest in producing any offspring." Gaara didn't like this topic. It would be best if the conversation just ended at that. "And you? Are there any females whom have _tickled_… whom you are… _interested_ in?"

"You're joking, right?" Naruto and Gaara exchanged stares and Naruto was reminded that Gaara never joked and even figuratively implying that he joked was rubbish, and Gaara was reminded that what he lacked in social normalcy would always take him down a peg or two when it came to topics like these. The blond scratched his chin pensively. "I thought everyone knew that I'm in love with Sakura-chan. I'm pretty sure she knows, too. Kiba told me I was as subtle as my choice in clothing, but it's not like I was trying to hide it or anything."

Oh, so that's what it was. Gaara had always thought love would be more filled with silly public displays of affections than emasculating punches and kicks. He must've let his guard down or something, because Naruto read his look easily.

"Just because I'm in love with her doesn't mean she's in love with me." Naruto's grin wavered, but remained on his face.

The redhead just nodded, not knowing what to say in response. "Why?"

Naruto sighed deeply and started to walk again. His cerulean blue eyes stared off into the distance and the pair slowly began their trek towards Gaara's office. "Why do I love her?" He let out a short laugh and Gaara prepared himself for an onslaught of schmaltzy professions. "I don't know."

But it was just as well if Naruto didn't say anything. Gaara quite enjoyed silence. This only persisted for a few minutes before the aspiring Hokage spoke up again.

"We just work, you know? I can think of a thousand times where we've saved each other and even more times where we've just managed to be so… _us_ and still work." A calm smile spread over his face and Gaara briefly wondered how one of the most capable ninja in Konoha could easily let his guard down at the thought of a certain pink-haired woman. "She's amazing, too. You've seen her! She saves so many lives and her eyes—"

Okay, now it had to stop. "The medics at our hospital quite like her." Gaara cut in.

"I'll bet. They all want to grow up and be just like Sakura-chan, huh?" Naruto's grin turned proud and he threw his arms behind his head.

He made a calculating noise and crossed his arms. "Actually, about 70% of the medics in our hospital are males of age 16 and older."

Naruto froze. He coughed. "What?"

Needless to say, the two spent the next couple of hours tailing an annoyed Sakura around the hospital.

.

It was evening time and the group had gathered at his abode where they were joined by his siblings and the Nara. The sun was setting and the winter chill was steadily cooling down the village, though it wouldn't be cold by Suna standards until slightly past midnight. Temari had brewed his favorite oxtail stew with ingredients that Shikamaru had brought over in secret when he arrived a week earlier. Everyone was uncharacteristically quiet at the dinner table and all but Shikamaru held secret grins that Gaara could easily see. He hoped whatever they had in mind wouldn't be too socially taxing. His entire day so far had been spent with Naruto and Sakura and he was left wondering where they found the energy to deal with each other endlessly.

He was left in suspense, however, as he silently drank his stew. He hoped neither of the Konoha ninja noticed that their gift was still sitting on the desk where he left it this morning.

"Naruto! Stop moving so much, you're bumping into me." Sakura whispered fiercely and her left hand reached beside her to still the jittery blond's arm. Gaara noticed it remained there long after.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm just excited—" Her hand promptly covered his mouth and she laughed nervously. The others at the table exchanged looks and Gaara expressed his annoyance at their behavior by narrowing his eyes.

"What—" He barely started his questioning before he felt the weight of several bodies on him. Faintly, he heard Kankuro whisper '_He's on to us—distract him!'_ and he suddenly felt so _tired_. Half of him mindlessly wondered if it was due to the Sakura's glowing-green hand on his head or if the effects of supervising Naruto were finally taking its toll. He suddenly felt like he was flying and registered the sheepish look on Sakura's face as a bad thing.

The world went black for an undeterminable period of time and he awoke to Naruto and Sakura chatting quietly.

He must've shifted, because in an instance they were both by his side.

"Good! Now that you're up, we have a surprise for you. Let's go!" Naruto tugged on his arm eagerly and Gaara heard Sakura slap him upside the head.

"Idiot! Give him some time."

"But Sakura-chan, we've been planning this since _forever_! I don't want to miss too much."

"Well, if you hadn't kicked Kankuro in the stomach and caused him to push my hand, you wouldn't have had to miss anything."

"That was barely my fault!" Gaara knew the idiot would be pouting at this point.

A sigh. "I know. It's just always easier to blame you."

A silence spread over the room and Gaara decided it was time to get up. He blinked up at the pair, both of whom were now dressed up nicely in kimonos. It only took him a second longer to realize that he was no longer in his usual gear either.

"What the _fuck_."

"We wanted to make sure you'd miss as little as possible, so we took the liberty of changing your clothes for you!" Naruto laughed weakly and shrunk back a little as Gaara's glare intensified. "It's okay. Sakura-chan's a medic and I'm strictly heterosexual. No biggie. Um, I'll meet you guys out there!"

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki disappeared with a poof and Gaara was left to glare at the guilty, but smiling, face of Haruno Sakura.

"Sorry about that," she motioned towards his head and then at his current apparel. "And, well, that. Don't be mad at him. He means well, you know? He woke me up at 4 in the morning after coming home from a mission a couple months ago and said 'Sakura-chan, we _need_ to do this,'" Her tone when talking about Naruto was gentle and affectionate and not unlike Naruto's tone when talking about her. Gaara wondered how far off Naruto was in his earlier speculation.

Suddenly, Sakura was ushering him out the door and Gaara realized he had tuned out of her ramblings and forgotten to ask just what the hell was going on. As soon as he was out on his balcony, though, he was left speechless.

The dark sky was filled with stars and similarly, the sea of villagers standing outside was spotted with multicolored lanterns. Strings of light were draped from house to house and it seemed as if the village (normally silent at this time of night) had been taken over by a traveling circus.

A thunderous applause began and hoots and yells of "Happy birthday, Kazekage-sama!" reached his ears. He felt Naruto land behind him and the blond threw his arms around both him and Sakura.

"You didn't think we came all this way just to give you a bowl, did you?" Naruto chuckled. Sakura laughed and wrapped her arms around both of them and Gaara ignored the slightly claustrophobic feeling that overcame him and continued to stare at his village in shock.

"So what do you think, little brother?" Gaara felt the corner of his lips twitch as his two siblings descended beside them. Temari grinned at him and took advantage of his easygoing state by ruffling his red hair softly.

"Gaara, the Kazekage, in a Konoha sandwich. Heh." Kankuro draped his arm around the trio and Temari and brought them all a little closer. "Ah, well. Since we can't count on a family hug happening in the future." Temari snorted, but her teal eyes twinkled in agreement.

Shikamaru approached the contentedly embracing group apprehensively. "Am I interrupting something?" He was ignored.

There were a few moments of silence before Kankuro made a contented sound. "Sakura-san, you smell good."

Gaara saw it coming before it happened and stealthily ducked out of the circle to stand beside Shikamaru as Naruto managed to successfully implode the group.

The shadow-manipulator sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Was that—"

Gaara nodded and inwardly hoped the darkness would mask the faint tinge of pink that had appeared when he realized others had saw him in such a way with four other people.

"How troublesome." The lazy expression morphed into a slight smirk as Temari approached them and Gaara tried to ignore the less-than-innocent way they looked at each other.

He cleared his throat awkwardly when their hands connected.

"Come on, come on!" Naruto yelled from the ledge. He jumped off and into the masses and Gaara blinked somewhat dazedly as everyone followed.

"What—"

A soft hand grabbed his own and he stared into mischievous mint-colored eyes. "Let's dance!"

_What_? No. _No_, he was Gaara and he did _not_ dance under any circumstances.

.

So, it was quite puzzling when he found himself standing amidst twirling bodies and laughter. Music pounded from the live band that could only be seen because they were raised an entire body's length higher than everyone on the 'dance floor.' He remained unmoving, but the rosette seemed to have no qualms about how utterly ridiculous she looked moving his arms around as she danced in front of him.

"_Gaara_." Her voice was meant to be strict, but wavered under her delight. "I don't think Naruto would like it if you weren't enjoying yourself out here!"

Gaara didn't think Naruto would like it if he found out how long Sakura's hands had been holding his own.

"Where is he?" He was unaware that it was he that had spoken and wondered if Temari had slipped some type of drug into his stew because he felt slightly out of it.

"It's a surprise." She giggled and he hoped his wince wasn't too obvious.

"There's _more_?" While he appreciated that his friends would go to such lengths for something as silly as a birthday, this was already too much.

"Well, this one's not exactly for you." She left it at that, and was swept away from in front of him before he could question further. A familiar brown-haired kunoichi with her cheeks flushed red stumbled in front of him in her place. He recognized her as Matsuri, the chuunin that often helped out around the office.

He heard Sakura's loud feminine laugh and adverted his eyes to watch Naruto swinging her around in his arms, blue eyes lit brighter than Gaara ever remembered seeing.

"Gaara-sama?" He stared down at the girl and she blushed an even deeper shade of crimson. "Would you… would you like to dance?"

He coughed awkwardly into his shoulder. "I don't… know how to. Dance."

"Ah." Matsuri giggled nervously and clasped her hands behind her back. "Then… would you like to look around?"

And so he spent the next twenty minutes standing beside the more-jittery-than-usual girl. He observed as children dragged their parents around gleefully and young teenage couples won prizes for each other. Civilians and ninjas alike would approach him and respectfully give their thanks and wish him a happy birthday. He noted the way Naruto had not let go of Sakura, despite the number of men whom had bravely marched up to the dancing pair and asked to cut in, and he smirked at the blond's antics.

He watched as a group of men—whom he recognized as the afternoon gate patrol bunch—pushed one of their own out towards the crowd and Naruto and Sakura. The man breathed deeply as if mustering up his courage, plastered on a confident grin and tapped Sakura on the shoulder.

Four seconds later, the man returned to his companions with a shrug, looking decidedly confused and Naruto and Sakura were beside him once more. He was faintly aware of them and Matsuri, whom had been silent thus far, exchanging pleasantries, but his attention was drawn towards the stage, where his sister was being pulled up by the Nara. He heard Sakura whisper "It's time!" excitedly and he frowned, wondering exactly what it was time _for_.

The music faded into silence and the light on the stage brightened a fraction. People halted their dancing and directed their attention towards the man on stage.

Shikamaru stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Good evening, Sunagakure. I am Nara Shikamaru and… I'm not too good at this sort of thing." Chuckles were scatter amongst the crowd and Gaara's eyes narrowed. _What_ sort of thing?

"I'm probably best known as the laziest man in my village—" More laughs were heard as Naruto and Sakura both hooted in affirmation. "Thanks, guys. Anyway, I've been dating Temari for a few years," He paused and took a deep breath and for once, the word troublesome didn't escape his lips. "And although she drives me crazy and expects way too much from me most of the time…" Shikamaru looked back at Temari, who stood several paces away in shock, eyes slightly moist and hands covering her mouth. "I know that I'm in love with her and that I want her to be the one kicking my ass into shape in ten years when I'm old and even lazier."

Gaara focused intensely at the scene. Shikamaru had lightly pulled her over to the front of the stage and Temari let out a short, disbelieving laugh when he got down on one knee. The females around him cooed and in his peripheral vision, he noticed Naruto high-five Sakura before interlocking their fingers and pulling her in front of him so he could rest his chin atop her head and watch the scene unfold.

"Before I ask you, I think it'd be best to tell you that this—" Here, Shikamaru motioned to the stage and lights. "—Wasn't my idea. I had quite a bit of help. And I know that I drive you insane, and I live in Konoha and you live here and both of us are probably too stubborn to leave our respective villages, but…" He cleared his throat once more. "Temari, will you marry me?"

Everyone in the immediate area held their breaths in the minute of silence that followed and Gaara's eyes widened marginally. He must've missed her acceptance, because the next thing he heard was massive amounts of cheering and applause and he watched his sister embrace the lazy ninja, laughing joyfully as they whispered to each other.

The sudden appearance of his older brother shook him out of his stare. Kankuro motioned at the band to resume playing and stepped forward, bowing. "Thank you everyone for coming out tonight to celebrate Gaara's birthday, and congratulations, sis. We're going to slow it down for a bit." He hopped off stage and walked up to a random blonde girl (whom Gaara had never seen before,) holding his hand out with a charming grin.

Gaara felt Naruto nudge him and gesture indiscreetly towards Matsuri, who was now looking up at him determinedly. She made a motion to put her hands on his shoulders, but stopped short and blushed, drawing them back together behind her back. He blinked at her and walked over to stand in front of a column. She sighed and followed him somewhat dejectedly.

Temari and Shikamaru were still on stage, swaying slowly to the orchestrated music and Kankuro had found his own partner for the song. Naruto had pulled Sakura closely—as if she were in one of his infamous bear hugs—and his eyes were staring thoughtfully at her pink hair, cheek resting against her head. Sakura, he realized, looked similarly content, with her hands wrapped around Naruto's neck and ear pressed against his heart. He must've said something, because she laughed and flicked the side of his head and then stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

Gaara contemplated about the pair, mindful of the growing restlessness in the female beside him.

"Oh." Matsuri's voice sounded defeated, and he wondered why she was still keeping him company at all, when he was clearly no good in situations like these. "You like Haruno-san too?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She surprised him again with how wrong she was.

"Sorry, Gaara-sama. I know it's none of my business." She said sheepishly and kicked a few clumps of sand with the tip of her shoe. "Haruno-san is very pretty though. Neither of my teammates could stop talking about her when I visited them in the hospital today. I can understand why you would. Like her, that is. If you do."

He didn't respond until she took a deep breath and began to excuse herself.

"No."

Matsuri stared at him, confused. "No?"

Gaara frowned agitatedly and pondered for a second on whether or not he would've been so clueless if Naruto hadn't told him straight to his face what was going on.

"No. Look closer."

The brunette tiptoed and squinted at them. "Oh. Are Haruno-san and Uzumaki-san together?"

"No."

"…No?"

This girl was becoming more and more predictable.

"They are not… together." He struggled slightly with his words. "But they should be."

She hummed curiously and they observed the interactions of the Konoha ninja in a comfortable silence.

Matsuri let out a playful laugh so abruptly that Gaara's ears twitched once. "Is Gaara-sama going to play matchmaker?"

He gave her a look that expressed his disbelief and although he suspected she was joking, he was slightly annoyed to find that part of him wanted to rise to the occasion. She awarded him with a friendly smile and he realized she was no longer acting nervously around him. Perhaps she was feeling slightly out of it today as well.

It was a while before he answered her question. By that time, she forgot having even asked, and Gaara felt like he was stuck reliving this conversation over and over again.

"No? No what?"

"No." He confirmed. "They don't need help. They're meant to be together and they will be on their own accord."

The music had picked up pace again, but it was getting rather late and families began to retreat to their homes.

When Matsuri didn't respond, he glanced back at her questioningly and noticed her staring at him rather strangely with her cheeks painted a light pink color once more. He decided that females were too complex to try and figure out and continued his observation. Only now, the subjects were standing away with matching grins and outstretched arms.

This is how Gaara found himself on the dance floor once again, with Naruto pulling around one arm, Sakura pulling around the other, Matsuri laughing and dancing beside them, and a persistent smile trying to fight its way onto his lips.

.

It was well past midnight by the time the festivities subsided and everyone returned to their homes. Gaara, Sakura, and Naruto stood contemplatively in the hallway as a drunken Kankuro stumbled into his bedroom and Temari and Shikamaru, whom had already been home when they arrived, engaged in activity that Gaara dearly hoped wasn't pre-marital copulation.

Somehow, Naruto and Sakura ended up staying in his room with the three of them lying horizontally across his medium-sized mattress as if they were children at a sleepover. They insisted on sleeping on the bed because he was the birthday boy, and for some reason, the half-assed argument had convinced him that yes, birthday boys should always let their friends camp out on their sleeping space. Currently, he lay in between the wall and Sakura with his arms tight against his sides, because Naruto thought it'd be weird if they slept next to each other. He was tired, slightly dizzy, and he could still _feel_ the dancing around him. He was now fully convinced that he was under the influence in some way or another, because he was Gaara and Gaara would _never_ let anyone keep him from sleeping after missing a good 14 years of it in his childhood.

He could hardly hear what he-with-all-the-blanket and she-with-all-the-hair-tickling-his-shoulder were mumbling with their sleep-laced voices, but he needed it to _stop_ because it was late and if he could fall asleep, then maybe some of the dizziness would go away.

He couldn't help but imagine how completely and utterly screwed Sunagakure would be if an enemy had planned an attack on this very night.

The blanket was tugged an inch off his body when Sakura turned to face Naruto in the midst of their chatting. Gaara hissed. It was _his_ blanket and well shit, he would be the one using it.

Gaara grasped his end of the blanket with his hands and rolled himself in the direction of the wall until he was in a warm cocoon of cotton. It faintly registered in the back of his head that he was acting like a child, but he was tired and seeing weird swirlies in his head and this was _his bed_, dammit. He ignored the noise of protest from Naruto and stubbornly faced the wall, putting the rest of his energy in blocking out everything.

The last thing he felt was shifting beside him before he managed to fall asleep.

It was in this way that he woke up a few hours later with a slight pounding in his head to a light thumping in the room. He remained still, and he could hear the slight creak of a window opening before the only other sound was Naruto's muffled breathing a body's space away. It was still very early in the morning and they laid in silence for nearly half an hour longer before Naruto decided to take action.

"Hey, Gaara?" Naruto didn't wait for a response as he sat up and stretched. "Do you think we should go after her yet?"

He made a faint sound of approval and got up to use the restroom. When he returned, Naruto had gathered all of his and Sakura's belongings together in the corner of the room and suited up in his usual ninja attire.

They jumped out the window and began a slow trek towards the outer East border of the village where most of Suna's fallen were buried. No words were spoken and when they reached the wide expanse of tombstones, a pale pink head of hair was easily spotted from afar.

Sakura sat kneeled in the sand before the grey slab that read _Chiyo-baasama_ with her hands clasped together in a prayer and her head bowed low. She didn't move when he and Naruto approached her and they mimicked her actions.

Gaara didn't know how long they stayed there, simply remembering and thanking the honored woman whom had saved his life. There were so many ways to think about the past and what could have been different. If Chiyo-baasama hadn't given her life for his, he wouldn't have just celebrated his 18th birthday with his friends; if Sakura and Chiyo-baasama hadn't fought Sasori together, Chiyo-baasama or Sakura could've died and that would've led to either him or Kankuro dying; if Naruto hadn't saved Sakura from him back in their first chuunin exams so many years ago, Sakura would've died and Kankuro and Chiyo-baasama might've died and Naruto would be an emptier shell of himself.

It was when the sun began its ascent for the day that he heard Sakura rise. She was shaky on her feet from kneeling for so long, but it was short-lived and Gaara imagined Naruto had risen to steady her.

He stood up and watched as Naruto held her, neither one of them tearing but both with solemn expressions on their faces. His arms held her comfortingly from behind and her much paler hands covered his own on her stomach. It only took a few minutes before Gaara recognized his cue to leave, and with a nod in Naruto's direction, he embarked on his walk home.

He wondered if Sakura would ever acknowledge her feelings for Naruto. Of course, Gaara didn't know what feelings they were, but he knew _some_ kind of feelings existed. Naruto had grown to be one of his closest friends and he, out of all the people Gaara knew, deserved to be happy the most. He vaguely pictured Naruto and Sakura visiting him in some years with a handful of rowdy pink-haired boys with bright blue eyes, unwavering appetites for ramen, and loud voices shouting for Uncle Gaara. He found a part of himself hoping the pair would get together soon, because contrary to popular belief, he _did_ want to be an uncle and the Nara would _not_ get to impregnate his sister and produce stubborn-spiky-haired-wind-wielding-shadow-controlling-genius children.

Unfortunately, spending his birthday celebrating had its repercussions and when Gaara arrived at his office later that day, there was a large stack of paperwork on his desk. The man who had been assigned by Naruto to finish his work the day before had done so, but there were quite a few documents that required the Kazekage himself to approve. And so, he read and signed mission statements and requests from the villagers for the next few hours in silence.

After a hearty lunch, Naruto and Sakura announced their departure and his sister and her new fiancé decided to join them on their trek back to Konoha to personally deliver the news of their engagement to the Nara family. Gaara stood as everyone exchanged goodbyes and Naruto came over to throw an arm across his shoulders with a hard pat.

"Happy birthday again, man. I'll be seeing you soon!" He laughed.

Gaara nodded and looked pointedly at the rosette whom was currently engaged in conversation with Kankuro before looking back into Naruto's eyes purposefully. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow questioningly and gave him a confused grin. Gaara frowned. Perhaps he would have better luck with the girl.

While Naruto went to pick up his bags, Sakura skipped over to Gaara and engulfed him in an unexpected and (thankfully) short-lasting hug.

"Take care, Gaara! Don't be overworking yourself on that paperwork now, I know how stressful it can be." She smiled, remembering her teacher back at home.

"Sakura."

Mint-green eyes blinked at him curiously.

He had no idea what to say. He knew being blunt would do no good in a situation like this, but discretion on things concerning romance was never his forte. Actually, _anything_ concerning romance was never his forte. He tried to remember something he saw from the heart-covered novels that Temari left all around the house.

"The only true gift is a portion of yourself."

Her eyes widened and she took a step back, her fist beginning to clench. "Are you… are you asking me to have _sex_ with you?"

Gaara choked slightly and his eyes mimicked hers. "No, no. Pardon me." He frowned, wondering why Naruto had to fail in relationships and why he was the one trying to fix it. Naruto definitely would not be getting a present from him on his birthday whether this worked or not. He decided to try something from a decorative box that he remembered Matsuri looking at the night before. "It is easy to think about love, to talk about love, to wish for love, but it is not always easy to recognize love, even when we hold it… in our hands."

"You're not confessing your love to me or anything, right?" Sakura stared at him hesitantly, moving just close enough so she could place the back of her hand on his forehead. "Your condition seems normal." No wonder Naruto was still single; this girl was denser than a brick.

If he could get any paler, he would have blanched. "No." He growled. "Forget it." He was starting to sound like Matsuri, whom he remembered saying 'no' more than anything else.

"Well, alright then." She smiled hesitantly. "I'll leave you a few recipes for soup that might make you feel better."

"I feel _fine_." Gaara hissed, crossing his arms in what appeared as a childish manner to Sakura.

She opened her mouth to respond, but Naruto slung his one of his arms around her waist with his other hand holding his backpack. "Ready to go, Sakura-chan?"

She nodded, giving Gaara one last clinical look-over and joining Shikamaru and Temari at the door.

"Don't make a mess of the house while I'm gone." Temari demanded, arms akimbo.

"Yeah, yeah. Just leave already." Kankuro stuck his tongue out at her, and Gaara wondered who was really the older brother in the family. "Just don't come back with a bun in the oven." He muttered under his breath.

Temari and Shikamaru turned slightly pink before rushing out the building and Naruto and Sakura left laughing, with one last wave. Gaara frowned.

He would have to ask Matsuri what having a bun in the oven meant.

.

The next time he saw the Konoha ninja was in early June during the biannual chuunin exams. The first two stages had passed and as the rules for the third and final stage were being announced, he spotted a head of pink waving kindly from beside the big-breasted Godaime Hokage.

"…One month to prepare. Good luck to all the contestants. Dismissed!" The exam proctor shouted to the worn down and relieved genin.

As soon as the crowd began clearing out, Gaara sat behind his table and felt Sakura's presence appear beside him. She pulled him into a one armed hug as they greeted each other.

"Where's the loud idiot?"

The corners of her mouth tilted upwards, but her eyes looked worried. "He's been on a mission for the past month with Kiba and them. He was supposed to get here a week before us." She clasped her hands behind her back and sighed.

Gaara nodded. "I'm sure he's fine. It _is_ Naruto."

She laughed, but Gaara could tell her whole heart wasn't into it because it didn't make the twinkling effect it usually did. "That's true. I'm just a bit worried. He's so reckless sometimes—I'm scared that one day he'll jump right into something he's not ready for and come home too hurt for me to fix."

Gaara remained firm. "He's fine. There's still a couple of things he has yet to do before he dies, and Naruto is stubborn."

Sakura hummed, crossing her arms and leaning on the wall behind her. "And what might these things be?"

He stared at her calculatingly. Had that ramen-loving idiot _still_ not made his move? "Become Hokage."

"Yes, we all know. And?" She raised a slender pink eyebrow at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Marry you."

Immediately after he said it he inwardly winced, although on the outside, he hardly moved. He remembered telling Matsuri that there was no need for meddling in this relationship, but he still wanted to be able to demonstrate A-class ninjutsu when he became an uncle. Naruto would thank him for this later.

Sakura had dropped her mouth in shock and was staring at him disbelievingly.

Oh, come _on_. "You had to have known." Gaara raised a brow, mocking her earlier action.

"Y-yes. Well. I thought he was just joking around. I never know when he's being serious." She was turning the color of her hair. "And I… I don't see him in that way."

Gaara fingered the ends of his Kazekage hat contemplatively at this statement. He was too far in to go back on it now. What had Matsuri said to him a few days ago when he insisted that he didn't eat kakigori?

"Have you… tried?" He felt a small sense of victory at her expression as he laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on his desk.

She was gaping at him as if she couldn't believe he was the one saying these things to her. Gaara could hardly believe it either. He used both hands to pick up the bowl of soup that Temari had left for him before the announcements and took a sip.

"Of course I've _tried_." She replied after a while, her notorious temper beginning to rise.

He said nothing and stared at her, prompting her to continue. He pondered about the eyesore of a bowl that had been gifted to him for his birthday a few months back and hoped Sakura didn't ask him why he wasn't using it.

"Well, a few years ago—"

His brow rose again and she growled at him.

"Okay, so maybe I didn't try very hard, but what the hell am I supposed to do? It's not like I knew he'd still like me after all this time." At this point, she had pushed herself off the wall and had slammed her palms onto his desk in front of him.

Gaara struggled to come up with words to say next because after he told Matsuri he had never tried kakigori, she offered some of her own and he had willingly taken a bite since the logic of her reasoning made sense to him. He settled with continuing to stare her down, hoping that the medic's dual mind would cause her to interpret it as another argument.

"He wasn't _that_ obvious! Friends give each other hugs all the time. Naruto's affectionate towards everyone. He even gives _you_ hugs! And he gives tons of other females hugs too, right?" A pause. "You know what? Maybe you're just interpreting him wrong. How about that, huh? Maybe _you're_ just wrong!"

Huh. He wondered how long he could pull off this staring thing until she stopped jumping to her own conclusions.

"Oh, don't you give dare give me that look, Sabaku no Gaara! You know what? Fine! Fine. We'll see who's right and who's wrong the minute that idiot gets his ass over here." With that, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut so hard that it flew off its hinges. "And quit waving that damned 'love' tattoo at my face!" She then proceeded to poof away, leaving the scattered debris in her place.

Gaara frowned. What was with these Konoha ninja dirtying up his floor?

And he had not moved his head at all. He briefly wondered if Sakura was, indeed, going insane. Then he shifted his thoughts over to what Sakura was planning on doing, though he doubted Naruto would suspect he had anything to do with it anyway. Naruto would have to either be a _complete_ idiot to suspect Gaara was meddling with love relationships, or a certifiable genius, and Gaara knew he definitely wasn't the latter.

Fortunately, Gaara didn't have to wait long to find out. As he, his family, the Nara, Matsuri, the Godaime, and her dark-haired assistant sat down for dinner at his home, Naruto and his team had teleported in, clouds parting to reveal their standing figures on his floor.

The blond had not even said a word before Sakura, who had just returned from the kitchen, took three purposeful strides towards him and grasped his shirt, pulling him down to her height. He laughed nervously in surprise, most likely expecting some sort of beating. She shot Gaara a trying look and with one yank, captured Naruto's lips with her own.

The entire room fell into a shocked silence as everyone stared wide-eyed at the pair. A few seconds passed before Naruto's arms hesitantly made their way around Sakura's body to pull her closer and Sakura loosened her grip on his shirt to rest one hand on his shoulder and the other on the back of his neck.

Quite a while later, Gaara began wondering if Sakura was trying to successfully remove Naruto's soul from his body with her mouth. He glanced around the table and noticed the Godaime's lips tilted into a smirk and her assistant simply looking relieved. Matsuri's cheeks were a very faint pink and she was staring intensely at her eating utensils. The Nara just looked tired and his sister was grinning. Kankuro and the smelly dog boy that had arrived with Naruto suddenly let out strange hooting and hollering noises and the pair stopped abruptly.

At that moment, Naruto's grin could've lit the entire village of Konoha. Sakura had turned a deep crimson color that clashed with her shirt and she buried her face into Naruto's chest, facing away from the speculators at the table.

"Heh. I didn't think you'd miss me that much, Sakura-chan." He lightly stroked her hair with her hand.

"Shut up, idiot." She didn't move.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Just where the _hell_ have you three been?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Well, about that…"

Gaara watched as the team of three—huh, he hadn't even seen the shades-bearing guy in the back—explained their absence with the Hokage. Sakura's head turned towards him and she mouthed what looked like a 'don't say it, jackass,' in between her smile. He smirked in victory and tried to send her 'you were wrong, and I was right' messages with his eyes.

This didn't go unnoticed by the brunette to his right.

"They'll get together on their own accord, you said, Gaara-sama?" She smiled at her and Gaara frowned slightly in response.

"Yes, and I was correct."

She continued to stare at him and he began to wonder if they were spending too much time together, because their number of similarities was starting to catch up with their number of differences.

"Right. Then that look was nothing?"

Gaara's mouthed opened and closed before opening again. "I simply answered a question, and she made her own assumptions from there."

"If you say so, Gaara-sama." She gave him a knowing look with her brown eyes, and Gaara decided he didn't like it.

The three Konoha shinobi joined them for the remainder of dinner and the story of their mission-gone-wrong was told in great detail. The room filled with laughter and yells and demands for sake, and by the end of the night Sakura had dragged Naruto away for an well-deserved talk. The dog boy, his shaded companion, the Hokage and her assistant had left to stay at an inn, and his siblings and the Nara had retired to bed. Gaara nodded to Matsuri as she waved and began running home, and he made his way to his room.

Remembering the last time Naruto and Sakura stayed over, he sped his pace up and flattened himself on his bed, wrapping the blanket securely around himself and taking up as much space as he could with his arms still at his sides. Sadly, this was ineffective and Gaara instead summoned as much sand as he could to cover the unoccupied parts of his mattress.

There was no way those two were sleeping in his bed again.

.

The next morning, Gaara sat doing paperwork while Naruto curiously inspected the cactus tree beside his desk.

"So you had something to do with this, huh?"

Gaara's hand froze for a millisecond before he continued scribbling on the report.

"Sakura-chan told me you had a talk with her."

He grunted, not pausing in his work.

"I knew I'd get to her one day, but thanks for the push, man."

Gaara frowned as he was engulfed in a hug. Naruto really _was_ affectionate towards everybody.

"I did nothing. I just want to see you have pink-haired sons before I'm old and rotting."

Naruto snorted and continued his observation of the desert plant. "What exactly did you say to her, anyway?" He hovered a careful finger over a few of the needles.

"That you wanted to marry her."

"Wha—oh _shit_, that hurts." Naruto glared down at his finger and then used it to point at Gaara accusingly. "You told her I wanted to marry her? I'm only 18, I'm not ready to be married yet!"

Gaara's brows furrowed. "I thought you told me you were going to marry her."

"Well, I _do_ want to marry her someday, but not anytime soon! And I told you I was in love with her, not that I was going to marry her! What if she's expecting me to propose to her now?" Naruto resumed his previous pacing and threw his hands up into the air. "I don't know what to do now. Gaara, you got me into this mess, tell me what to do."

He managed an annoyed look without rolling his eyes and stared at Naruto pointedly. "What the hell would I know? You figure it out."

.

Gaara sat contentedly at his desk, stirring the soup in his bowl absentmindedly. He studied the bright green ceramic with the strange handle fondly. He had forgotten to clean his other bowls the previous night and found this odd one in the back of his cupboard. He still remembered the day he received it, so many years ago.

His fingers traced the rim of the bowl as he surveyed his office, the corner of his lip tilting upward as he saw the drawings his niece and nephew had given to him a few days ago when his sister had brought them over for a visit. A picture of Matsuri, Naruto, Sakura, and himself from his 18th birthday sat in a frame on the left side of his desk and his cactus plant had been moved to the other side of the room.

The Kazekage slipped his hand curiously through the handle and the bowl rested on his palm in a perfect fit. Huh. It _was_ quite comfortable. Gaara wondered why he never bothered with it before. After finishing the rest of his soup, he scanned the room to make sure he was alone before he moved his arm around in a fashion not unlike the way Naruto had done when giving him the gift. He stopped after a few seconds though.

He was expecting visitors.

As if on cue, the doors to his office were flung open and Konohagakure's most colorful family burst into the room with a shower of crinkled leaves.

"Happy birthday, Uncle Gaara!"

**A/N: **The end! Just a one-shot—my first Naruto/Sakura story. I don't know where the idea came from and just went along with whatever my mind threw at me. Hope you all enjoyed it and please inform me of any errors or inconsistencies, since I did not have it beta-read.


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